Nashik rape: City back to normal, cops ask people not to believe rumours

Nashik: A day after violent protests at several places here against the alleged rape attempt by a teenage boy on a five-year-old girl at Trimbakeshwar, the situation in the district was under control as no untoward incident was reported on Monday, police said.

Some persons have been detained in connection with the protests, they said. Tension had gripped various parts of the district since Saturday night after the 16-year-old boy allegedly tried to rape the minor girl at an isolated place in Talegaon village near Trimbakeshwar earlier that day.

The enraged villagers later staged ‘rasta roko’ at several prominent roads including Mumbai-Agra National Highway on Sunday, set afire a State Transport bus there and damaged some other vehicles including those of police, prompting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to appeal for calm and giving an assurance that the case would be tried in a fast track court.

Heavy police security had been deployed at various places following the large scale protests.

Nashik District Superintendent of Police (rural) Ankush Shinde said the situation is under control as no untoward incident has been reported so far on Monday.

Shinde said platoons of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and other police forces have been deployed near important places in the district. He appealed to people not to believe in rumours being circulated on social media and assist police administration to help bring normalcy.

The SP said some people involved in stone-pelting and arson incidents have been detained, and added that vehicular traffic on the busy Mumbai-Agra National Highway was normal. He said some people were planning to stage ‘rasta roko’ on Monday, but police managed to convince them against it. Nashik’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Laxmikant Patil said the situation in the city was normal, but they were keeping a close watch on social media for those circulating rumours and false messages.

Some schools declared a holiday today for students as a safety measure, and those open witnessed thin attendance, sources said.